Antifriction bearing



May 12, 1942.

J. H. POWERS ANTIFRICTION BEARING Filed Feb. l, 1940 20 Inventor:

James I'l. Powers,

9 rug Attorney. I

Patented May 12, v1942 UNITED "iS/TATE s PATENT, OFFICE AN TIFR/ICTIN BEARING James H. Powers, Fort Wayne, Ind., assignor to General Electric Company, a. corporation of New York Application February 1, 1940, Serial Nq. 316,769

(Cl. 30S-187.1)

6 Claims.

ble to provide permanent and eiective lubrica-` tion of the bearing surfaces with a supply of clean lubricant, properly controlled so as to insure against subjection of the bearing parts to undue strain, wear, or temperature rise, such as would occur if the parts were whipped through an oversupply or immersing body of lubricant. 1

Another and more speciiic object of the inven-v tion is the provision of an improved lubrication arrangement for a bearing of the double row conical roller type whereby a properly controlled distribution of lubricant over the surfaces of the rollers of both rows is insured irrespective of the positioning of the bearing.

` A still further object is the provision of an im;

proved bearing seal for preventing contamination of a bearing and its lubricant by passage of uid invention is not limited to employment solely in the manner and with the particular apparatus illustrated, only suicient of the details of this apparatus will be described herein as will insure a proper understanding of the invention and its potential applications.

member II. Within the housing is a grinding mechanism which includes a stationary shredding element I2, mounted in a wall of casing member I0, and one or more material impelling elements I3 supported on a rotatable flywheel I 4. 'I'his mechanism is operable to effect comminution of waste material, such as garbage, with the aid of water supplied to the grinding chamber. During the grinding operation, the flowable mixture of water and comminuted material passes through the clearance between the flywheel and the lower edge of the casingmember into an annular compartment I5 formed in the bottom flange member.4 Vanes I6 on the flywheel serve to pump the owable mixture from compartment I5 through a discharge conduit I1 to a sewer connection or the like indicated at I8. Flywheeel Il is mounted on the upper end of a vertical shaft 20 rotatably supported in a bearing assembly, hereinafter described, which is centrally mounted in bottom flange II. Rotation of the flywheel is effected by a motor (not shown) which is connected in any suitable manner with the lower end of shaft 20.

The supporting bearing isvof the double row conical roller type, comprising a plurality of tapered rollers 23 assembled in two annular series around shaft 2li and disposed between an outer raceway member 24 and an inner raceway member 25. The outer raceway member is of onepiece construction and is non-rotatably and resiliently supported by a sleeve 26 of chemically resistant synthetic rubber-like material, such as I Neoprene, which is not subject to deterioration In the drawing, Fig. 1 shows sectional elevation a portion of the waste disposal apparatus and the details of construction of a double conical roller bearing embodying my invention; Fig. 2 is a sectional plan view along the line 2-2 of Fig. l; and Fig. 3 is a sectional elevation along the line 3-3 of Fig. 2 showing a detailof a part of the due to exposure to oil. Sleeve 26 is bonded to, and supported by, a metallic sleeve 21 which is pressed into a cylindrical seat in the bottom flange. Member 24 provides two coaxial conical raceways arranged with the smaller diameter ends thereof in contiguity. Inner raceway member 25 is comprised of two parts xedly secured on the shaft and arranged to provide two conical raceways which also have their smaller diameter ends in contiguity. Proper positioning of inner raceway member 25 is maintained by clamping the two parts of the raceway member between a depending skirt 28 on the flywheel and a collar 29 which bears against a circumferential shoulder 22 on shaft 20. .Annular thrust ribs or shoulders 3I!,vf0r engagement with the outer ends of the rollers, are provided adjacent the outer larger diameter ends of the inner raceways, and similar ribsor shoulders 3| are provided at the smaller diameter contiguous ends of the inner raceways. The two annular series of rollers are assembled respectively between the upper and lower sets of raceways so that the smaller diameter ends of the rollers of the upper cone assembly are toward the smaller diameter ends of the rollers on the lower cone assembly. Two conical cages 32 maintain proper spacing and positioning of the rollers respectively of the upper and lower assemblies. The smaller diameter ends of these cages, which are in contiguity, have end flanges 33 curving smoothly in toward the shaft.

The illustrated bearing, as described so far, is of a general form and arrangement known in the art. However, of the various methods heretofore employed for lubricating such a bearing, I have found none entirely satisfactory under all conditions, this being particularly true of those installations wherein the axis of the bearing is vertical or wherein an effective permanent lubrication is desired. By a permanent lubrication system is meant one wherein the bearing, after once being charged with lubricant, uses the lubricant over and over and requires no replenishment over a long period of service, preferably approaching the effective bearing life. In some cases it has been the practice to immerse the bearing, either partially or wholly, in a body of oil, but I have found, particularly in connection with high speed installations, that the resultant churning and the resistance offered to the bearing parts by the body of oil produces undesirable strain, wear, and heating. It has been proposed also to supply a flow of oil to the midportion of the bearing between the annular series of rollers to the end that the centrifugal pumping action of the conical bearing parts may effect distribution of the oil through the bearing. In this latter case,` it is diiicult, if not impossible, properly to control the supply of oil. Ifl too small a flow of oil is supplied to the midportion of the bearing, the pumping action will not be effective to produce proper distribution of oil over the roll ers of the upper series, while an oversupply of oil may result in the undesirable churning of the oil and heating and wearing of the bearing as previously mentioned.

In order to provide a dependable permanent lubrication which avoids the difhculties mentioned, I have devised as one feature of the present invention a lubrication arrangement which aords a properly controlled supply of oil to the bearing parts and insures an even distribution of the oil throughout the bearing. In accordance with this feature of the invention, oil is supplied to the midportion of the bearing by means of wicking which is fed from a reservoir comprised of a body of oil saturated sliver wool or like brous material. Two wicks 35 are employed in the illustrated embodiment, although less or more than two may be employed, depending upon the size of the wicks and the amount of oil which it is desired to furnish to the bearing. These wicks, throughout considerable portions of their lengths, are disposed in or extend through a reservoir comprised of oil saturated sliver wool, indicated at 36. Bottom ange Il has compartments 31 formed therein around the bearing and separated by reinforcing partitions 38, which compartments accommodate the sliver wool with the wool in each compartment extending below the open lower end of the compartment and interconnecting with the wool in the adjacent compartments. An annular retaining cup 40, pressed into a cylindrical seat in the bottom ange, holds the sliver wool in the compartments and serves 'to catch any free oil. A passage 4I, closed at its outer end by a screw42, is provided in the bottom ange for charging the reservoir with oil. However, as will become apparent hereinafter, the bearing after once being charged, uses the oil over and over, and there is little chance for escape of the oil from the bearing, so that recharging of the reservoir is necessary only infrequently, if at all.

Wicks extend from the reservoir through radial passages formed by registering openings in bottom fiange Il, sleeves 26 and 21 and outer raceway member 24, into the space between the upper and lower series of rollers, in which space substantial lengths of the wicks lie in contact with the rounded flanges 33 at the smaller diameter ends of cages 32. During rotation of shaft 20 and the cages, a steady supply of oil, of relatively small but sufficient amount, is deposited by the wicks on flanges 33. Under the influence of centrifugal force produced by rotation of the tapered cages, the oil deposited on the flanges flows, in the form of a thin film, upwardly and downwardly over the surfaces of the upper and lower cages, respectively, toward the larger diameter ends of the cages. Rollers 23 pick up the oil from the cages and distribute it to the inner and outer raceways. 'I'he oil films on the surfaces of the various bearing parts are caused to travel toward the upper and lower ends of the bearing by reason of the centrifugal force produced by rotation of the tapered cages, rollers and inner raceways all of which have their larger diameter ends adjacent the outer ends of the bearing. That part of the oil which is pumped upwardly to the top of.the bearing seeps back down through the bearing with the aid of gravity, and, along with the oil which is pumped downwardly through the lower half of the bearing, is caught by retaining cup 40 and returned to the sliver wool reservoir.

I have found that, by reason of the oil being distributed only in the form of a thin lrn, there is no tendency for oil to be thrown out o1' the upper end of the bearing or to build up so as to flow out over the upper rim of sleeve 21. Thus, all of the oil which is distributed through the bearing is returnedto the sliver wool reservoir without loss. A further advantage of the Wick feed and the distribution of oil in the form of a thin film over the surfaces of the bearing parts, is that there does not occur an oversupply such as would result in the undesirable churning and heating previously mentioned as being attendant upon flowing of oil to the bearing or immersion of the bearing.

It is essential that the oil With which the bearing is charged be kept clean in order that the permanent lubrication system previously described may remain eiilcient throughout long periods of service. The wicking and the sliver wool of the reservoir tend to strain out solid partlcles such as might result from wearing of the bearing parts. In order to prevent contamination of the bearing andits lubricant by fluids or solid particles which might gain access from outside sources, such as from the discharge compartment I5 in the housing of the waste disposal apparatus of `the exemplary embodiment illustrated, I have provided an improved construction and arrangement of baiiling and sealing parts now to be described.

Bottom flange Ii has a centrally located upwardly projecting annular ridge which is accommodated in a conical recess 46 formed in the bottom of iiywheel I4. The outer surface of ridge 45 is conical and extends in relatively close parallel relation to the downwardly and outwardly flaring side walls 41 of recess 46. By reason of this construction, a considerable portion, if not all, of any fluid which enters the restricted space between ridge 45 and walls 41,` during rotation of the flywheel, is repelled downwardly under the influence of centrifugal force induced by frictonal engagement of the fluid with the downwardly and outwardly slanting walls 41.

Fluid which gets by the space between ridge 45 and walls 41, during either rotation or nonrotation of the flywheel, is prevented from reaching the bearing by a bearing seal which includes a disklike sealing ring 50, the outer periphery of which is tightly pressed into a circular flanged seat in the top of ridge 45, as shown at Pressing on the upper surface of ring 50, adjacent the inner periphery thereof, is an annular nose-piece 52 which is comprised of a suitable wear-resisting material, such as Textolite, and which nose-piece is backed on its upper side by an annular washer 53 of chemically resistant, rubberlike material, such as Neoprene. Washer 53 in turn is backed by an inverted cup-shapedmetallic retaining ring 54, and has an annular recess 55 engaged by an annular ridge 56 on nose-piece 52 so as to effect a sealed junction between the washer and nose-piece. The assembly comprised of nose-piece 52, washer 53, and ring 54, is disposed in an annular recess 51 formed in the flywheel in communication with recess 46, and the inner surface of washer 53 is in tight sealing engagement with the inner wall of recess 51 so as to prevent leakage of fluid at this point. Nose-piece 52 has one or more radial lug portions 65, each of which projects into 'a seat formed in a lug 66 on the outer periphery of ring 54. Lug 66 projects into a recess 61 which forms a radial extension' of the recess 51 in flywheel I4. Thus, the nose-piece, washer and retaining ring are constrained to rotate with the flywheel and relative to sealing ring 50. The

nose-piece is maintained in sliding sealing engagement with ring by means of springs 58 which are disposed in vertical bores in the fly'- wheel and press downwardlyon retaining ring 54.

As a still further precaution against access-of contaminating fluid to the bearing, I have provided an annular deflecting plate which is clamped at its inner periphery between the top of inner raceway member 25 and the bottom of the depending skirt 28 of the flywheel, so that plate 60 is rotatable with shaft 20. .The deflecting plate extends outwardly in underlapping relation to sealing ring 50 and has at its outer periphery a flange 6I which curves downwardly over sleeve 21 to a point below the upper rim of this sleeve. Thus, any fluid which might escape past the sealing elements previously described, is deflected by plate 60 into the annular space 62 formed between the upper end of sleeve 21 and the inner surface of ridge 45 of the bottom flange. Any fluid reaching. space 62 is drained therefrom through passages 63 and 64 formed in the bottom flange as shown in the detail view of Fig. 3. As a precaution against oil being thrown from the rotating bearing parts outwardly through the clearancebetween plate 60 and the upper rim of sleeve 21, iny case very light oil is.

employed in the bearing,y plate 60 is provided with a depending circular'ridge'BS. This ridge is located just inside of sleeve 21, and serves to deflect any outwardly thrown oil downwardly into the space within the upper end of the sleeve.

When flywheel I4 and shaft 20 are at rest, nose-piece 52 and washer 53 have maximum effectiveness of sealing action and prevent leakage of fluid into the bearing. When the flywheel and shaft are in rotation, the sealing action of the nose-piece` may be slightly reduced, but under these conditions the action of the flaring walls 41 of the recess 46 in the flywheel is effective greatly to restrict the amount of fluid whichcan gain access to the sealing elements. And finally, such small quantities of fluid as might escape past the seal, due to wear of any ofthe sealing elements from long periods of service, will be prevented by defiecting plate 60 from reaching the bearing. Thus I positively insure against contamination of the bearing and its lubricant under all conditions.

In the foregoing I have described in considerable detail the construction and operation of the illustrated exemplary embodiment in order to insure a complete understanding of my invention and its advantages. However, it is to be understood that the invention is not limited to the particular application or to the details of construction of the illustrated embodiment, and I desire to cover by the appended claims such other applications and modications as do not depart fromV the true spirit and scope of my invention.

What I claim as new and desire to secure by Letters Patent of the United States, is:

1. In an anti-friction bearing, the combination of two annular series of tapered rollers assembled so that the smaller ends of the rollers of each series are toward the smaller ends of the rollers of the other series, inner and outer raceways for said rollers, each of said series having a conical retaining cage and said cages being disposed with their smaller ends in contiguity, wicking extending into direct contact with said said cages adjacent the smaller ends of the cages for feeding oil to the latter, and means for supplying oil to said wicking.

2. In an anti-friction bearing, two annular series of tapered rollers assembled with the smaller ends of the rollers of each series toward the smaller ends of the rollers of the other series, each series having a conical retaining cage disposed with its smaller end in relatively close continguity to the smaller end of the retaining cage of the other series, each of said cages having at its smaller end a circumferentially extending rounded flange curving inwardly toward the axis of thebearing, wicking extending into the space betweenv said series and lying in contact with said flanges, and means for supplying oil to said wicking exteriorly of said space.

3. In an anti-friction bearing, two annular series of tapered rollers assembled with the smaller ends of the rollers of each series toward thev smaller ends of the rollers of the other series, each series having a conical retaining .cage disposed with its smaller end in contiguity to the smaller end ofI the retaining cage of the other series,

wicking extending substantially radially of the axis of the bearing into the space between said series, a portion of the wicking in said space lying in contact with said cages adjacent the smaller ends of the cages, and a reservoir comprised of oil saturated brous material associated with said wicking externally of said space for supplying oil to the wicking.

4. In an anti-friction bearing, two annular series of tapered rollers, each series having a conical retaining cage, said rollers and cages assembled so that the smaller ends of the rollers and cage of each series are toward the smaller ends of the rollers and cage of the other series, wicking extending into the space between said series and having a portion lying in contact with said cages adjacent the smaller end of the cages, a reservoir associated with said wicking exteriorly of said space for supplying oil to the wicking, and means for returning to said reservoir the oil distributed through the bearing.

5. In combination, a substantially vertical axis bearing including two annular series of tapered rollers assembled with the smaller ends of the rollers of each series toward the smaller ends of the rollers of the other series, each series having a conical retaining cage disposed with its smaller end in relatively close contiguity to the smaller end of the retaining cage of the other series, wicking extending substantially radially of the axis of said bearing into the space between the upper and lower series, a portion of said wicking lying in contact with said cages adjacent the smaller ends of the cages, a body pf brous material adapted to be saturated with oil and associated with another portion of said wicking exteriorly of said space for supplying oil to the wicking, and means for returning to said body of material the oil distributed through said bearing, said last means including a retaining cup adjacent the bottom of the bearing for catching oil which drains from the bearing. i

6. In combination, a substantially vertical axis bearing including two annular series of tapered rollers, each series having a conical retaining cage, the smaller ends of the rollers and cage of each series being disposed toward the smaller ends of the rollers and cage oi the other series, means providing inner and outer raceways for said two series, a supporting structure for said bearing, a body of oil saturable fibrous material disposed in a compartment in said structure exteriorly of the space between said two series of rollers, wicking extending radially into lsaid space, a portion of said wicking lying in contact with the smaller ends of said cages and another portion of the wicking being arranged to receive oil from said body of fibrous material, means for catching and returning to said body of material the oil distributed through the bearing, said last means including a retaining cup substantially closing the lower end of the bearing, and means substantially closing the upper end of the bearing.

JAMES H. POWERS. 

